A collection of 11 short stories set in The Shadowhunter Chronicles universe. It features characters from The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices. The stories are co-written by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan. The first ten were released individually online, before being collected into an anthology, which added another short story, The Voicemail of Magnus Bane. It was released on November 11, 2014.
The stories follow the immortal warlock Magnus Bane through his very long life. It consists of:
1. What Really Happened in Peru: Magnus goes on several adventures in Peru with fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss. (April 16, 2013)
2. The Runaway Queen: During the French Revolution, Magnus gets hired by a handsome count to save queen Marie Antoinette. (May 21, 2013)
3. Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale: Magnus visits the London Institute for the peace talks between the Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Here he meets the vampire Camille Belcourt and the young Shadowhunter Edmund Herondale. (June 18, 2013)
4. The Midnight Heir: Magnus travels to London to perform a spell for Tatiana Blackthorn that turns out to be far more sinister than he expected. While there he meets James Herondale, the son of Will and Tessa (July 16, 2013).
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort: Magnus has to work together with the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute to stop the insane warlock Aldous Nix. (August 20, 2013)
6. Saving Raphael Santiago: Magnus gets hired by a mundane woman to save her son Raphael Santiago from a vampire before it is too late. (September 17, 2013)
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort: The vampires of New York have gone mad due to mysterious reasons. Magnus agrees to help, but this means he has to talk to Camille Belcourt, the leader of the New York clan, who also happens to be his ex. (October 15, 2013)
8. What to Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything (And Who You're Not Officially Dating Anyway): Magnus tries to find the perfect birthday present for Alec Lightwood (who he may or may not be dating), while conjuring a demon for a mundane company. Then an unexpected visitor arrives: Isabelle Lightwood, Alec's sister. (November 19, 2013)
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute: Some members of the Circle, including Valentine Morgenstern, Lucian Graymark, Stephen Herondale, Robert and Maryse Lightwood, and Michael Wayland, attack a werewolf family in New York. Magnus decides to try to stop them. (December 17, 2013)
10. The Course of True Love (And First Dates): Magnus goes on his first date with Alec Lightwood. (March 18, 2014)
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane: Magnus gets several voicemail messages from Isabelle, Raphael and many others. (November 11, 2014)
This book series provides examples of:
- The Ageless: Magnus and all other warlocks are this. They stop aging once they reach adulthood.
- Exposition of Immortality: Tessa gives one to Jocelyn when they first meet, stating how she personally knew her distant ancestors (Charlotte Fairchild and Henry Branwell, the latter of whom had the same red hair as Jocelyn's) and married Will Herondale, with whom she became ancestor of Stephen, Jocelyn's fellow Circle member who died during the Uprising.
- Eye Scream: Valentine tortures the werewolf girl he interrogates by putting silver coins on her eyes. By the time Magnus is able to save her, she has been rendered blind.
- Fantastic Racism A lot of Shadowhunters are very racist against Magnus and other Downworlders.
- In Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale the Shadowhunters of the London institute threw away the plates the Downworlders used at the meeting, as they are too disgusted to eat from the same plates as Downworlders. Magnus is evidently hurt by this action, which colors his perception of Shadowhunters afterward.
- The Last Stand of the New York Institute features the Circle, a group of Shadowhunters with the goal to destroy all Downworlders.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Eventually, what drives the Accords to be signed is not boring diplomacy, but rather when demons attack the London Institute, forcing the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders to cooperate in fighting them.
- Historical Domain Character: The Runaway Queen focuses on Magnus trying to save Marie-Antoinette during the French Revolution. Her friend, Swedish count Axel von Fersen, also appears as a key character.
- Historical Fantasy: Most of the stories take place in an historical period, but with magical creatures added. This periods include: Victorian London, The Edwardian Era, the turning point of The Roaring '20s and The Great Depression, The '50s, The '70s, The '80s and The '90s.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen:
- Tatiana Blackthorn. After the deaths of her husband and son, she lives a reclusive life in the dilapidated Blackthorn (previously Lightwood) residence in London. She still blames Gideon and Gabriel for murdering their father and is distant with her extended family. Will flat-out considers her a madwoman.
- Camille Belcourt in The Fall of the Hotel Dumort, when she becomes addicted to drugs. Magnus is so traumatized by his ex-girlfriend's state that he has Catarina wipe this memory from his mind.
- Then there are the surviving Circle members. Jocelyn fled Idris with nothing but her clothes and Clary to escape the Clave's wrath and ends up having to beg two of the Circle's greatest enemies to help her.
- Interquel:
- The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth stories are set between the events of The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments series.
- The eighth story is set between City of Ashes and City of Glass. The tenth story takes place during the events of City of Bones. Finally, the last story is set sometime between City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire.
- Love at First Sight: Edmund Herondale and Linette Owens. Edmund wastes no time to voluntarily strip his Marks so he can marry Linette.
- Mayfly–December Romance: It is revealed that, before Alec, Magnus had series of human lovers, all of whom he outlived. The last before Alec was a mundane woman named Etta, who suffered from dementia at the time of her death and no longer remembered Magnus.
- Not So Above It All: Among the voicemails urging Magnus to reconcile with Alec after their breakup, two of them came from Maryse Lightwood (the normally no-nonsense head of the New York Institute) and Raphael Santiago (a brooding vampire who Hates Everyone Equally).
- Prequel: The first three stories are set before the events of The Infernal Devices.
- Really 700 Years Old: Magnus is physically around 19, but in reality he has lived for more then 400 years. The other warlocks are also this, as they never grow past their early twenties and some have lived for centuries old. Ragnor Fell, in particular, is much older than Magnus; he was already an established warlock when Magnus was a boy.
- Tempting Fate: While taking some air from the stressful Accords meeting, Magnus thinks that it's not as if attractive and interesting people can simply fall out of the sky. As if on cue, Edmund Herondale falls and lands right in front of him.
- Time Skip: The book contains stories about several periods in Magnus' life and since he is more then 400 years old, there are some pretty big time jumps. The Runaway Queen takes place during The French Revolution. The stories after that jump to 1857, 1903, 1929, 1953, 1977, 2007, 1989 and 1993, and then 2007 again.
- Total Party Kill: In The Last Stand of the New York Institute, the entire Whitelaw family, who administer the New York Institute, are killed by the Circle, explaining why it is used as an ideal place of exile for the Lightwoods and Hodge Starkweather after the Uprising.
- The Unreveal: Magnus tells some outrageous stories about his adventures in Peru, but, ultimately, we never do find out why he was banned from there.
- Urban Fantasy: The stories that take place in the modern day are this.
- The 'Verse: Part of The Shadowhunter Chronicles consisting of this book, The Mortal Instruments, prequel series The Infernal Devices, sequel series The Dark Artifices, The Last Hours (sequel to The Infernal Devices), The Wicked Powers (sequel to The Dark Artifices), The Eldest Curses (spin-off focusing on Alec and Magnus), Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (short story collection) and Ghosts Of The Shadowmarket (short story collection) and The Shadowhunter Codex (guide book) all taking place in the Shadowhunter world.
- Victorian London: Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale takes place here.
